


upon a land of red

by Collectible



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, April Fools AU, Eichi is mentioned but not present, Gen, Happy Christmas in July!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2018-06-30
Packaged: 2019-05-31 05:35:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15112877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Collectible/pseuds/Collectible
Summary: Ten•Shouin has a mission for them. Hibikiga is interested. Hassumi.... not so much.





	upon a land of red

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HolyEmpress](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HolyEmpress/gifts).



The world around them was barren. An arid landscape with nothing in sight, as though the oppressing heat sucked away the last visages of natural life on the tiny planet.

 

Their spaceship, _Dragonhead_ , sat quietly behind them. Not made for a fleet of soldiers, but capable for the two of them to survive within for hours ranging toward days.

 

Dual fiery suns shone upon the cracked land. In the few seconds he’d been in open air after leaping down from _Dragonhead_ , his hair frizzled the tiniest bit. A minuscule difference his internal hardware observed, taking unimportant numbers and lodging information in the back of his thoughts.

 

Awaiting the order of his commander--a silly little show of rank that brought a smile onto his face--Hibikiga dragged his fingers through his silver hair, grooming it back into unseen neatness.

 

“The coordinates Ten•Shouin sent marks this as the chosen location,” Hassumi remarked. Behind the tinted visor of his sleek helmet, he eyed the horizon before his gaze darted to the ground. Eroded red soil surrounded them like a desert.

 

They landed in the middle of nowhere--but can one land nowhere when the entirety of the planet was unknown?

 

Hibikiga’s attention fell from his grooming techniques when Hassumi raised his arm. He tapped the screen of his communication device and a shimmering rectangle rose up, displaying the letter detailing their latest assignment.

 

_Hassumi. Hibikiga._

 

_As unfortunate as it is, I am incapable of carrying out this mission by my lonesome as it would end in my termination. Surveying this planet with either of you would have been in my favor, yes. Alas, I have considered a superior alternative._

 

_The two of you will take part in this assignment together. As the one with the most experience, Hassumi will take charge on this expedition and locate any materials on this wasteland. Follow Hassumi’s instructions to the best of your ability, Hibikiga. Your scanner will offer excellent help for finding what lay under the surface, so I hope you and Hassumi will use it and increase your cooperation._

 

_Below are the coordinates to the planet in question._

 

_Be safe, you two. ♪"_

 

“‘ _A superior alternative_ ,’” Hassumi repeated. His teeth clenched as though seconds from grinding them into dust. “‘ _Be safe_.’ Ten•Shouin’s jokes have managed to stay subtle this time. Although his intelligence seems to have dropped quite a few levels. Expecting me to cooperate with you? How preposterous.”

 

The swell of Hassumi's space suit made it difficult to look over his shoulder. He managed, though, and chuckled at the hologram. “As preposterous as it is, you would never go against his requests. Is that not why you’ve brought me along in the end, Hassumi~?”

 

“It’s ‘commander' Hassumi, android,” he snapped. Hassumi glanced over to him, taking him in as he stood with his head hooked over his shoulder. It didn’t take long for him to startle and stumble away like a frightened rabbit. “Personal space, you! You have your own device, don’t you? Use it!”

 

“Ten•Shouin desires for us to learn to work together, does he not? Under those instructions, should we not share? Your screen is large enough for two.”

 

“It is large enough for _me_ ,” Hassumi emphasized. “And no one else. If you’re done with being an irritation, I would like to complete this mission before nightfall.”

 

Could night fall on this planet, what with their two blazing suns? His Majesty ordered them to come without disclosing any details about their destination, so they were as clueless as sitting ducks.

 

Closing his right eye for better focus, he rose his enhanced mechanical one to to the balls of fire. Without the human risk of burning his retinas to an ember, he examined the flames flicking off the orb in waves. If night arrived, the lack of skin-blistering heat would lower the temperature to worrying degrees. For humans. Man-made machines like him survived even in the worst of environments.

 

This planet lived on the extremes. If lifeforms existed then Hibikiga would love to visit as he pleased, learning their tools to surviving in such severe lands.

 

Hibikiga blinked, escaping from his thoughts as Hassumi exclaimed from several yards away. He’d gotten quite far due to the swift vehicle acting as their mode of transport. A hovercraft, hovering above the ground and disobeying gravity. Although the visor muffled his voice until he seemed to speak from inside a plastic bag, Hibikiga caught his orders with ease as the embedded speaker in his helmet carried his words far. “Quit staring and hurry up! You’re wasting time!”

 

“Yes, yes! Your Hibikiga is coming!” Hibikiga leaped onto his own hovercraft and pushed on the accelerator. Instead of sticking to Hassumi’s side, he shot past him as fast as a bullet, grinning at the sharp glare aimed his way.

 

As his curtain of hair whipped behind him and the bland red landscape stretched out in all directions, Hibikiga thought:

 

Ten•Shouin planned on exploring this small planet, far at the start of a solar system none had ventured into, all alone. If dangers persisted, it was best for them to make the first rounds and rid the land of dangerous obstacles. And if nothing lived there, leaving it dead and useless outside of a potential bank of materials…

 

Well, Hibikiga would make sure to his scanner to the utmost. For Ten•Shouin! ♪

 

* * *

 

They had little knowledge of the unnamed planet before touching down. Still, a little over an hour later they arrived at the same conclusion: nothing worthwhile existed there.

 

Although the red soil could have led held traces of anything, Hassumi requested (demanded, and very harshly) he scan the minuscule grains down to the tiniest detail in search of interesting finds. To their disappointment, the dirt showed the same components of deserts throughout the other galaxies and solar systems. Thousands and thousands of eroded rocks over time, with little to no amount of organic matter to even attempt a potential revival of vegetation. The reddish color resembling rust was because of, as Hassumi said--

 

“--Iron. Quite a large amount of it too, especially so far outside of our galaxy.” Sliding the pads of his pale suit over the soil, Hassumi rubbed his fingers together, staining them a dull red. “Whatever this planet used to be, the environment rubbed it down until only sand and soil remained… Hibikiga!”

 

Standing at the absolute edge of the crater Hassumi had leaped into, Hibikiga hummed and watched him work. “Yes~? Do you need help on returning back up here, Hassumi? I’d loved to help you, if you simply asked!”

 

“ _Commander_ Hassumi. And I’m _fine_. Keep quiet and listen.” Lifting to his feet, he turned to face where Hibikiga stood. “From where you are, do you feel wind? A push against you that isn’t gravity?”

 

Wind, he said? Hibikiga felt nothing while on solid ground--but not feeling anything was not the same as it not being there. A series of numbers and words filled the vision of his left eye as it took in their surroundings. A check of the temperature, which was several degrees deep in the hundreds. The amount of moisture in the air which, while not much, existed in meager amounts. And, at last, the wind direction and speed… which showed exactly zero miles per hour in all directions.

 

\--Oh? And something else.

 

“Hassumi?” he said. Following his eye, he refocused off to the left, zooming miles into the distance yet seeing nothing out of the ordinary.

 

“It’s com--”

 

“There doesn’t seem to be wind around this area. However, over there…” Hibikiga pointed far into the distance. “Something seems to be kicking up quite a storm. An irregularity, seeing as nowhere else exhibits similarities. _Amazing_! Even a hunk of rock like this can hold surprises!”

 

Hassumi fell silent. “An irregularity? Can you not tell what it is?”

 

“Ten•Shouin is rather fond of adding features without explaining what they do!”

 

“You two…” Breathing deeply through his nose, Hassumi moved on. “We have little information about the nature of this planet. Yet I haven’t seen particular spots before landing to show any surprises.”

 

“Commander Hassumi, no thinking! What fun would it be to wonder what may or may not be common here? Instead, why not take it in stride and walk with your head held high? Now, come on!”

 

Without awaiting a response, Hibikiga hopped off the edge and plummeted into the crater. He landed not too far from Hassumi. In a quick motion, disregarding the yelp of “ _Don’t touch me!_ ” he grabbed hold of his commander’s wrist and yanked him over his shoulder. Hassumi struggled, squirming and kicking and cursing like a rabid animal. Hibikiga leaped back out of the hole with ease, experiencing no discomfort.

 

To end the stream of curses in his ear, he placed Hassumi feet-first back on solid ground, only for him to whirl around as quick as a typhoon. His face burned several shades lighter than the planet’s soil.

 

“What part of _don’t touch me_ do you not understand?” he growled lowly in his throat. His fists clenched as if he considered throwing punches. It would just serve to hurt his own fists when he connected with metal. “If you’re _incapable_  of understanding basic instructions then it’s imperative Ten•Shouin scrapes you once we return to base.”

 

Hibikiga was straddling his vehicle by the time Hassumi finished his threat. “Oh? But I did exactly as Ten•Shouin said?”

 

“He said to follow my instructions—“

 

“To the best of my ability, dear commander!” he chirped. “As it turns out, yours and everyone’s Hibikiga is incapable of following orders! Besides, we have a destination to reach, do we not? As your partner, should I not rush to finish our assignment even if it involves lifting you off your feet?”

 

“Don’t use nonsensical reasoning to make what you did alright!” To that, Hibikiga smiled and shrugged. “... Forget it,” Hassumi concluded, teeth clenched, “we’re moving on. Where is the irregularity?”

 

“West!”

 

Without offering him another look, Hassumi straddled his ride, stepped on the pedals, and took off with a sharp whistle.

 

“Fufufu!” Ten•Shouin was right; messing with the uptight second-in-command was too entertaining. Once they returned to the main ship, he’d enjoy playing around more if Ten•Shouin allowed it. Why wouldn’t he? Two were better than one!

 

Hassumi was edging out of sight the more he lingered. Wandering around a dead planet was fascinating, but Hibikiga preferred to stay within close distance for the time being. So, pressing down to speed up, his vehicle hovered forward before zipping away.

 

Above them, the two distant suns inched lower down on the horizon.

 

* * *

  


The drop in temperature grew obvious to them over time.

 

They still headed west, the length of the planet and the travel distance longer than either of them expected. Around them was the same scenery as anywhere else; red soil and many, many deep pits. Having long grown bored, Hibikiga observed the smoky gray sky. Equal even in their descent, the suns touched the tip of the landscape together. The inevitable turn from day to night.

 

The speaker connected to his hovercraft crackled as it turned on. Hassumi’s questioning tone came through. “It’s growing dark. Without the light from the suns, it will be too difficult to catch sight of what we’re looking for. We may have to return tomorrow—or whenever tomorrow is on this rock.”

 

“What a shame,” he sighed exaggeratedly, taking one hand off the handles to pull his hair from his face. The source of the oddity seemed closer than reality led it to be. His scanner couldn’t be defective so soon after Ten•Shouin improved it. It read several kilometers to the west—which they had drove, only to locate nothing in the end.

 

Perhaps something was amiss?

 

“We should have observed the day-night cycle before landing,” Hassumi chastised from the speaker. He hovered over yet another crater further ahead. As he did so, Hibikiga switched his scanner back on for a much needed double-check. “Wasting this whole day on nothing... Finding an overabundance of iron, sweltering in this suit for hours, having to deal with _you_ for _days_ in that ship…”

 

Startled, Hibikiga stomped on the brake. The dust shot up behind him, forming a momentary cloud. “Hassumi.”

 

“How many times--!”

 

“Hassumi!”

 

His scanner had finally noticed what was so wrong. As the flat land under them started to tremble, almost throwing them from their vehicles, Hibikiga gripped the handles tightly to keep from toppling off.

 

They should have noticed the oddities from the start. The unexplained cracks in the earth, the large amounts of craters. What Hibikiga had noticed beforehand had been a disturbance, a random pulse of energy coming from somewhere out west. What he should have noticed was the shaking under the surface, the shifting and crashing of plates right under their feet.

 

Had Ten•Shouin known the planet had a penchant for constant quakes? Some inner part of Hibikiga assumed this, in some odd way, was a part of his meticulous calculations. His Majesty loved to throw curveballs... He should have anticipated their mission going pear-shaped.

 

A startled gasp sounded from the speaker. While the world shook, Hibikiga gritted his teeth and focused on the single figure ahead of him. Hassumi’s vehicle had moved, balancing on the precarious edge above the yawning pit.

 

This was no time to worry about the actions of their leader. They needed to get away from the quake’s location or, if possible, leave the planet altogether. Now, if only he could get to Hassumi…!

 

Hibikiga zipped forward like a bolt of lightning. The scanner centered on Hassumi, a series of numbers appearing and declining as he neared closer and closer.

 

Hibikiga reached him safely--yet the jarring quake forced him to stomp on instinct. With a curse, his hovercraft sped further than was necessary and rammed into the head of Hassumi’s.

 

His arm snapped out, intent on taking hold of Hassumi’s arm, but he was a second too late.

 

Grunting at the rough attack, Hassumi, as well as his vehicle, toppled over the edge.

 

“Has--” His mouth shut with a clack. The violent trembling almost stabbed his teeth straight into his tongue.

 

Hibikiga shifted his hovercraft over the edge and moved forward, off the ground and above the crater Hassumi fell into.

 

His body stilled. After the long stream of shaking and trembling and not falling over, suddenly returning to normal threw him off balance. Hibikiga flopped over the handles, sighing.

 

Ten•Shouin had an interesting taste in choosing planets... Once they returned to the main ship, he was going to have a talk with him. But before that, he needed to find Hassumi.

 

He regained his breath as he hovered above the opening, peering down to locate his commander. His scanner clicked on with a whirl, expanding and revolving in his eye socket as it searched through the darkness.

 

His vision went neon. The obscuring darkness faded as he concentrated on heat signals. Something caught his attention at once. A light green object lay sideways and clattered against the rocks like drums on a xylophone. A little to the right was a bright red figure in the shape of a human. Unmoving outside of the forced movements from the quake, but alive for the time being. He hoped, in any case.

 

Hassumi…!

 

His first instinct was to lower himself to the bottom and help, but Hibikiga held the powerful urge down. It wouldn’t do good for both of them to end up thrown off their vehicles. Nothing seemed dangerous to Hassumi’s health. No boulders broken free from the soil due to the shaking, no random monstrosity living inside the pit. Hassumi was safe. Unconscious, yes, but safe to an extent.

 

The quakes couldn’t last for much longer. Once it passed, he would gather up his poor commander and leave the planet for good.

 

Settled onto his seat, Hibikiga spared one last glance toward the setting suns before dropping his gaze to Hassumi down below.

 

There, he watched. And waited.

 

* * *

 

 

The intense trembling of the world grew distant.

 

Hibikiga blinked several times, both consciousness and movements slow as he returned to full attention. From his knowledge, quakes rarely lasted as long as they did on this planet. The suns were below the horizon and out of sight, leaving nothing but an inky darkness unlit by stars in their wake. He’d switched to night vision during his wait, keeping watch on Hassumi’s downed form for the entirety of it. The night looked as bright as the day, and it was clear Hassumi had yet to awaken after his fall.

 

After a long stretch of hours, the trouble had passed at last.

 

His hovercraft lowered toward the bottom once the particular thought had clicked. There were no quaking or rocks tumbling off the cliff walls. A blanket of silence settled over them, as heavy as the planet’s atmosphere.

 

He touched down. Hibikiga was off his seat in a flash, striding over to Hassumi in the same time it would take his commander would growl “Incorrigible!”

 

His heat sensors had not noticed anything about Hassumi while he waited for the best time to gather him up. Hibikiga double-checked his heartbeat in case upon kneeling down at his side. It beat normally under his palm as he pressed onto his chest. His chest rose and fell at regular intervals under his suit. The visor over his face held tiny spider web-like cracks along the surface, but nothing that could lead to it breaking or Hassumi suffocating. He'd check for serious injuries but doing so included removing his helmet and suit. A bad choice, seeing as Hassumi would die the second he tried it.

 

“Hassumi?” His voice rang out, the one source of sound in the vicinity. Hassumi’s own hovercraft had fallen silent long ago. He hovered over his commander’s helmet, anticipating a motion to announce Hassumi’s return to awareness. “Hassumi~? Commander?” A different tactic? “… Ten•Shouin fell unconscious and requires your presence?”

 

No luck. Not even the fear of Ten•Shouin’s unnatural illness usually leading to Hassumi dropping everything worked. He stayed as stiff as a corpse.

 

Hibikiga could have chosen a less depressing comparison, considering their situation. Ah, well.

 

Regardless of Hassumi being awake or not, they had to return to _Dragonhead_. While the quake threw their work in a jumble and pulled them off course, they had managed to finish their inspection before it went to hell. This planet was useless to them--more than they assumed, too.

 

Lifting up one of Hassumi’s floppy arms and receiving a pained puff of air and a twitch of furrowed brows, Hibikiga pulled the arm over his shoulder. Rising to his feet, he carried the extra weight on his back. His vehicle hovered quietly as he trudged over and hopped back on the seat. Dead to the world, Hassumi fit well between the driving handles and Hibikiga’s chest. A better position than placing him on the seat behind him, where he would fall off.

 

Both feet pressing on the pedals, they rose from the pit. The shroud of darkness within the hole was heavier than the total blackness outside of it, as though it were a cell with walls closing in on them. Although nothing had changed upon returning to the open space above it, Hibikiga’s shoulders smoothed out the tiniest bit.

 

 _Dragonhead_  was to the east. A map of their expedition came to the forefront of his mind, staying updated in the background. Not too long for him to express true worry for Hassumi's condition. Unless back-to-back quakes were common, they were home-free.

 

He shot off toward their spaceship at high speed.

 

Hibikiga realized why sharing a ride wasn’t the smartest idea a little while later. Driving with a second person proved a difficult task. He adapted to it as much as he could by balancing Hassumi’s upper body on his arm without dropping him. The change helped, an easy solution Hibikiga kept for most of the ride as he drove in silence.

 

Hassumi’s state was a blessing in disguise. If he were any semblance of conscious, deep in the artificial heart taking up his chest cavity, Hibikiga knew there would be a long, _long_  struggle.

 

 _Speak of the Devil and He shall appear_ , Hibikiga mused. Another rough puff of air came through the visor in Hassumi’s suit, alerting him to a change in his commander. Slowly, as though he was giving Hibikiga ample time to think up a good enough excuse that wouldn’t lead to a head-splitting lecture, Hassumi awoke.

 

“... Ugh.” His fingers twitched. Leaning against Hibikiga’s arms, Hassumi was free to come to terms with his body’s condition as much as he liked. Tumbling down a cliff killed frail humans, and they were both lucky he hadn’t ended up with something broken. A concussion was possible. His X-ray scanner couldn't detect everything. They weren’t out of the clear until Hassumi gave a detailed assessment of what hurt.

 

“Good morning!” Hibikiga said cheerfully. “Or should I say evening? Good night! We’ve had quite a hectic day, haven’t we? A tale to tell for decades!”

 

Groaning deep in his throat, Hassumi tried to move. His shoulders rose for the slightest of seconds before they dropped like weights, a heavier note of pain escaping his lips.

 

“So you are hurt.” He should have figured as much. A fall from that height resulted in injuries. Luck could take them so far. “Well, too bad! We’ll fix what we can before we return to the main ship. We should have the basics in the medical bay.”

 

“Hi… biki… ga.” Eyes clenched tight, Hassumi gritted his name out, slow and breathless. A cough erupted from him, sending him into a series of hacks sounding about as tortuous as Hibikiga’s left eye tearing from its socket. “Shut… up.”

 

Rude. After he brought him out of the pit, too! Disregarding how he was also the one who knocked him down there, of course!

 

“You’re awfully rude to those lower ranked to you,” he said. “Although I’ve never seen you express such irritation to Torii or MAO… could it be, I’m special? Fufu, to think Commander Hassumi saw me as a special existence~!”

 

Hassumi glared. Hurt sparked in his eyes, but the familiar exhaustion that came with interacting with him made its way to his expression. Sooner or later he’d start hissing rules about how to speak to one’s superiors.

 

As expected, it didn’t take him long to try to maneuver out of Hibikiga’s arms. Not like it mattered much to try. One attempt to lift his head led to a deep scowl crawling along Hassumi’s features, his expression twisting like a whirlpool. Frustration flushed his cheeks a light red.

 

Keeping an eye on the space ahead, Hibkiga said, “It’s rather dangerous to move around while someone is driving, you know? Your Hibikiga is many things, and being a responsible driver is one title he is proud of!”

 

“The fall,” Hassumi choked out in a rush of air. “You… did it. ‘ _Responsible_.’”

 

“Ah, well. One can always improve!”

 

In broken pieces, Hassumi added,  “Ten•Shouin… will speak with… you.”

 

“How threatening…!” The most punishment he’d ever gotten involved receiving additions to his body courtesy of Ten•Shouin’s sporadic interests. Perhaps a red-hot laser to fight off attackers would come next? Oh, or heat-proof hair extensions to avoid the frizziness he’d experienced on this planet?

 

His enhancements were many. Still, Ten•Shouin went overboard in his eagerness to improve upon perceived perfection. They were fun, on some days.

 

Hassumi was closer to their leader more than anyone else in his employ, and Hibikiga did cause harm, even if by accident. He’d never seen Ten•Shouin truly furious either, and would not quite enjoy the anger directed at him. It would be quite a sight for his calm leader to express such emotion, though… What a conundrum.

 

“For what good it will do,” he said some time later, “pushing you into the pit was not my plan. A simple misjudgment, if you will!”

 

Hassumi’s frustration bubbled under the surface, like boiling steam collecting under a pot cover.

 

“I could have done better, indeed.” And a lot worse. “But when all is done, I still saved my commander in the end. Wouldn’t Ten•Shouin be proud of how close we’ve gotten? A budding friendship between human and android! Does is not sound exciting?”

 

His eyes squeezed shut yet again. Hibikiga had the feeling Hassumi disagreed with every single syllable coming out of his mouth.

 

“At any rate, the incident hammered the final nail in the coffin. This planet is a waste. Not worth Ten•Shouin’s attention at all!”

 

 _You think?_ Hassumi seemed to portray with a perfect inclination of an eyebrow.

 

The quakes were one part--albeit a large part--leading to his conclusion. A dead planet with no intelligent life and useless iron, a planet several years from its own self-destruction. Everything about it appeared inconsequential in the big picture--in Ten•Shouin’s, His Majesty’s grand scheme. Their little falter here was an unimportant footnote in a history that would have no knowledge of their actions.

 

Hibikiga’s scanner beeped as the hulking mass called _Dragonhead_ entered his vision. They would reach the entrance soon, and then Hassumi would receive the medical attention he sorely deserved.

 

His expression brightened as a particular thought entered his mind. This close to his face he could see Hassumi staring at him in unease.

 

“Hassumi~!” Said commander grew tense, his eyes narrowing the longer Hibikiga smiled. “I have a great idea! Ten•Shouin sent us to work together to improve our cooperation, yes? Yes!” He sped past Hassumi’s inevitable response. “This was a failure. As his adviser and  as vice-leader, is it not best to find one aspect of this mission that will make it successful in his eyes?”

 

Hassumi seemed confused. Good.

 

“Oya, you’re curious! That spells fortune for our developing relationship, does it not? Not to worry, my offer is to your benefit, Hassumi-- _Commander_  Hassumi!” he corrected at the sharp glare, ever prickly even while battered and bruised. “As the poor wounded soldier under His Majesty, it is crucial you receive the best medical attention! Yes, you deserve the best of the best! A nepotistic reward, indeed!”

 

His feet lifted off the pedals inch by inch. _Dragonhead_ awaited as their speed decreased from lightning-fast to a lazy drift. Hassumi must have understood why, even though the absolute void of darkness made it impossible to observe more than a foot ahead for human eyes. His languid limbs stiffened in Hibikiga’s arms. He hoped he didn’t intend on jumping right off once they stopped. He was responsible for hurting him, but not for anything he did to himself!

 

A hiss escaped Hassumi’s lips when he went to stretch his legs. “The point, android. Get to it.”

 

“The point is how despite your high rank, there is no one around to provide for your injuries. No nurses, no doctor; no one who attends to physical health is aboard! You could take care of it yourself as the oh-so strong man you are, or…”

 

“No.” A refusal right off the bat.

 

“Or,” he repeated with emphasis, “I can be your beautiful assistant until we return to base. It is the most I can do after causing you pain. And, to top it off, I have quite a comprehensive data-bank on medical help in this head of mine. From assisting in panic attacks, to concussions, and even how to prep surgeries! A perfect assistant, am I not?”

 

“You’re not.”

 

He ignored that. “Fufu, I'll heal you by the time we return to headquarters! Commander Hassumi, please do grow acquainted to your nurse, the talented Hibikiga! We will have tons of time together on the ship as I heal your injuries. Do take care of me, and I will do the same, okay?”

 

Adding to his pain, Hassumi grabbed the handles and gasped like a fish out of water. He ground out: “You… are _not_ nursing me!”

 

“Then who will, dear commander?” Hopping off the seat in the same time it took Hassumi to struggle halfway up to his feet, Hibikiga grasped his shoulder in a stone-tight grip. “Now, don’t struggle! I’ll make sure to treat you almost as if you were a king. It's the least I can do!”

 

“Let… go!”

 

“By the time we meet up with Ten•Shouin, we will be the best of friends. This should work to improve our cooperation, yes? I can’t wait!”

 

“D-Damn you! I’ll have you.. made into scrap metal! I’ll have you scraped!”

 

He gasped, mock affronted. ”To have such delusions, commander… I must administer treatment at once! To the medical bay!”

 

“Don’t touch me-- _put me down_!”

 

“Then how will we get there faster? Now, quiet! Nurse Hibikiga will take care of you.”

 

Their mission may have been a failure, but there was no need to call everything unsuccessful. Ten•Shouin would appreciate how much they’d grown closer during the few days out of his sight. And during that time, could Hassumi would grow to appreciate him in turn?

 

Curses shot at him like dulled arrows as he forced Hassumi onto his back for the third time. Hibikiga felt the slightest hint of doubt before he waved it from his mind. Jovially he wandered towards the ship, its entrance lowering toward the ground as he roamed closer and showering them in an agonizing blast of white light.

 

Hassumi may dislike him now, but things could change. With a whole week of requiring close range to keep Hassumi alive and well, they were bound to experience a new bond--a different level of closeness than how they started.

 

… Well, he could believe. Hibikiga couldn’t see into the future, after all.


End file.
